Recently, the New England Board of Education (NEBHE) announced an expansion of the New England Transfer Guarantee. Of course, we had to learn more about this expansion and refresh ourselves on the basics about this valuable program, so we reached out to Emily Decatur, Senior Program Manager of Transfer Initiatives for NEBHE. In our interview below, we discuss the program, who participates, eligibility, benefits and more about this fantastic opportunity for students in the Commonwealth.
SC: Can you tell me about the program?
ED: NEBHE has partnered with community colleges, state public higher education systems, independent college associations, and four-year institutions to establish the New England Transfer Guarantee (the Guarantee), an admission transfer guarantee, in Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island. The Guarantee is currently funded by the Teagle Foundation and Davis Educational Foundation.
The initiative is modeled on state transfer policy and offers associate degree holders who have met the GPA eligibility criteria guaranteed admission into participating four-year independent institutions, with a focus on the liberal arts. Additional features of the Guarantee include an application fee waiver, financial aid and scholarship incentives, and full transfer of associate degree credits.
The Guarantee is up and running, accepting students in Connecticut, Massachusetts and Rhode Island. In Massachusetts 21 independent colleges are participating, 9 in Connecticut, and 3 in Rhode Island. For more information, visit the sites linked above!
What states participate?
The southern New England states of Connecticut, Massachusetts and Rhode Island are fully operational. We are excited to announce that we are currently designing the Guarantee in the northern New England states of Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont, we are aiming for the initiative to go live sometime in 2024.
Who is eligible?
We have the following eligibility criteria:
- Associate degree from an in-state community college
- Qualifying GPA
- CT: 2.0, 2.5 (depending on the school)
- MA: 2.5
- RI: 2.0, 2.4, 3.0 (depending on the school)
Note: The Guarantee is a state-specific initiative
How does it benefit students?
Benefits and features of the Guarantee include:
- No application fee
- Guaranteed admission
- Guaranteed transfer of credits
- Institutional transfer of student scholarships and other financial incentives (varies by college)
- General Education courses transfer as a block (MA and CT)
- Transfer Ticket Pathways (CT)
How do students apply?
Eligible students should apply through each institution’s webpage. There is no application for the Guarantee itself, and eligibility is automatic.
What are the details of the recent expansion?
In July of 2022, NEBHE was awarded multiple three-year implementation grants – from Teagle Foundation, the Arthur Vining Davis Foundations, the Davis Educational Foundation and the Balfour Foundation – to expand the program to Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont.
NEBHE is collaborating with state partners to develop a plan to streamline and unify transfer for both in-state public and independent colleges and universities. NEBHE’s partners include: the Maine Community College System, the University of Maine System, the Maine Independent College Association, the Community College System of New Hampshire, the University System of New Hampshire and the New Hampshire College and University Council, as well as the Community College of Vermont and the Association of Vermont Independent Colleges.
For more information about the New England Transfer Guarantee, visit their webpage here.
